How Do I...? Use the Library's Short Help Videos to Learn Quickly

What is peer-reviewed research? How do I use these tools offered on the library Website? Where do I begin research? How do I login from off-campus? These answers and many more can now be answered via our new Help section. Consisting largely of short videos answering specific questions, the help area s organized into the following sections:

• Starting Points
• Finding Resources
• Research Steps
• Logging In
• Citing Sources

The Help section can be accessed either from the top menu under Help or under the "For Students" Focus Area under the "How Do I...?" link.

Help For Citations and Reference Lists

End of semester means it's time to compile reference lists for your final projects and papers. Here are some reference and citation tips:

1. Consider using these Citation Guides from the Online Writing Lab at Purdue:
MLA | APA

These guides cover most situations with examples after which you can pattern your own citations and references.

2. Special situations may not be covered in the guides. In those cases, visit the Reference Desk to consult the actual citation rules. The most recent editions of both the MLA Handbook and the APA Publication Manual are behind the Reference Desk on Reserve.

3. The citations provided by databases like EBSCO and ProQuest are not always formatted correctly. There are other citation creation services available for free online, like Citation Machine, which are not always correct. You should use these services with caution, and check their work against either the OWL guide or the actual citation manual.

4. Remember, if you don't cite your sources, you are plagiarizing, and plagiarism comes with stiff penalties.